Sony has announced it will be purchasing Bungie, the game developer behind the Halo and Destiny franchises, for A$5.1 billion.
This is the third major video game developer acquisition this month, following Microsoft’s deal to buy the troubled Activision Blizzard, and Take Two’s takeover of mobile game developer Zynga.
It’s hard not to see this deal as a reaction to Microsoft’s Activision takeover, which nets them the popular Call Of Duty series. By shoring up Destiny, Sony can ensure that, even if Microsoft eventual choose to make Call Of Duty an Xbox exclusive, the PlayStation remains competitive in third-person shooter realms.
“This acquisition will give SIE access to Bungie’s world-class approach to live game services and technology expertise, furthering SIE’s vision to reach billions of players,” Sony said in the statement.
Bungie and its 900-strong workforce will operate independently, “maintaining the ability to self-publish and reach players wherever they choose to play”, according to Sony.
Interestingly, Microsoft acquired Bungie in 2000 for a mere A$42 million, although the company spun off as an independent company in 2007. In negotiating their freedom, Bungie gave Microsoft the rights to Halo, which had been responsible for the success of the Xbox.
